JohnJ

Hi Terry, Indeed the Pfaff 118 has an foot lift of 9 mm it's an industrial zig-zag machine Parts list Nice little machine runs smoothly, fast and the transport is nice. I have one in my loft, nothing spectacular. The 238 is unknown to me. But increasing the foot height? my guess would be that it's a no go, but that's just a guess... Hope it helps. John J.

Also you can visit Vigils Website. The SB found is a French national SB Vigils statement: It's under investigation. For those who don't want to visit their website: Brussels, 4 May, 2007 VIGIL NOTICE It has been reported to us, that some full stainless steel cutters in the field have damaged and cut reserve closing loops while the container is being closed. This has only been reported on cutters placed on top of the pilot chute. It has only occurred on some cutters from the batch shipped during March and April of 2007 ( Printed D.O.M. + batch number on the cutter body is “03-07-1” or -2 or -3 ). It is our thought, that the movement between the grommet on the container/pilot chute, and the cutter body while the container is being closed is causing this damage. It is estimated that about 10% of this lot of cutters may cause this problem. It has occurred on four cutters in Europe, and three in the USA so far . All the cutters remaining in our stock have been returned to the manufacturer for inspection. Some of these cutters have a slightly different shape to the hole that can be the cause of this type of damage. AAD is busy investigating the reports and working in conjunction with the cutter manufacturer to determine the exact cause. Once we have further information we will issue a product service bulletin with a resolution for our customers. If you have a unit that was delivered during this period, and have the cutter location above the pilot chute, you should be aware of the potential for loop damage. We also urge you to inspect your reserve closing loop. If damage to the loop is found, please contact your dealer or [email protected] for further instructions. As soon as we have more information we will post this and issue a service bulletin with further action. VIGIL Team John J. edit: corrected some confusing writing

Yeah I know, a Senior rigger can replace 1 line and take all lines from the links but not replace all lines in one job. A master rigger can unless the mfg. says otherwise. I've done my share of minor and major repairs also and wouldn't hesitate to re-line a reserve specially not when a complete line set is available. But when the mfg says no, it's no. Nevertheless in this situation I would e-mail them, explain the hassle and try to get a (one time) approval and a complete line set. But hey, that's me, bothering everyone

Sorry, You are completely right about that. Gr. John J.

Why didn't you go to a local rigger for a re-line? You could've jumped it the next weekend.... Oh, and yes PdF's stuff is legal to jump in the states (as long as it's TSOed) not all their material is.... But indeed, for some reason they don't sell to the states directly. Gr. John.

There is no problem with one of the Atom containers. It's just a precaution for ALL atom containers to replace the cutter location from underneath the pilot to above the pilot. This is not to much work for a rigger. All it takes is some Type 3 and type 12 and about 45 minutes. Gr. John J.

Did you get in contact with paratec already? If so what where they saying about it? Just curious. John J.

I think there is one big misunderstanding about the seal purpose here. When I repack and seal a rig, that seal does not mean it's airworthy for the next 120 days. Imagine the owner (or any other user) makes a butt slide over the runway and grinds halfway trough the legstraps. On his/her next jump those straps fail. Who should be held responsible? The rigger because his seal is on and thereby declares this rig airworthy for the full 120 days, or the users for neglecting the problems they create themselves. Sealing a rig is to identify the rigger and proving no one has been messing with it while in use. The owner should use his/her common sense during the 120 days whether it is still save to jump it. John J.

The loops are made of ty 2A because of the elasticity. This way there is always sufficient tension on the pin. John.

I know there's no need, just tell the people who just start jumping. And remember, the pressure in the military is a bit higher, (less time and more to learn in this time). to mjosparky: Didn't say it's easier to get a non TSO'ed rig approved, but imo it certainly is a difference between military/sport rigs. John.

for the reaching factor, just follow the main container with your hand, but indeed your setup is very important. I want to argue the seeing the ripcord issue. Remember the belly chest alti's ? How many people de-arched to see their altimeter? If you know you won't be able to see it, your not going to look for it. so no de-arching just before opening. aff is an easy option to switch to. If setup with a drogue release on the same side as the hackey, there is just one action to be trained. And yes, there are military rigs handdeploy operated. A difference which isn't mentioned is that military rigs don't need to be TSO'ed John edit: moved the alti a few inches up

Don't get your hopes up. Knowing the French, they'll have their factory closed for about a month for the holidays. We only have a couple of them so not to much worry here. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, they've moved their facilities so that might cause some extra delay.. Don't shoot the messenger.

This is just for the 240. This because of the grounding of them due to slow openings. More info

Haven't received the kits yet. Did receive the needed modification in writing. Looks like the C mod. is the same as the original Techno 240 (A).

How about a 1 year repack cycle and a 1½ year cycle if followed an material knowledge course from a rigger. This with a i.e. 2 year update mandatory. Just might help educate the knowledgeless people. John.